Ford Repair: Ford Crown Victoria 93 / 4.6 ltr., ford crown vic, ford crown victoria

Question
Hi Mark!

Let me bring you up to speed on my Ford Crown Vic '93.  

1) In it's first year, the alternator failed and Ford installed a re-mfg alternator, new battery cables and checked the battery.

2) My private mechanic installed a re-mfg windshield motor.  It was barely used when it blew on the road in the rain and I went to ----------in Montrose (the town where it blew) and he installed a re-mfg motor.  His remark on the receipt was that this motor had been previously replaced and he felt there may be an overload in the system.

3) My oil gauge consistently reads low after the car has been driven for some time and errands and stopping and starting, etc, (below the R and close to the M).  A normal reading for this gauge is above the R and below the O.  May private mechanic ran an oil pressure test that showed the pressure was exactly as it should be.  Obviously, the gauge was not giving me an accurate accounting of my pressure, so, I put in a new oil sending switch myself because they just pop in and pop out.  Immediately the oil gauge read above the R and below the O.  This fixed the problem for two weeks and ever since then the gauge is back to reading below the R and close to the M.  In other words, it 'appears' the oil sending switch is blown again.

3 a.) The alternator gauge never reads too low, however, as the day and my stopping and starting wear on, the gauge does tend to start out lower and lower in its arc and take longer to come up to where it should be in the arc.

4) My mechanic cannot fix the CHECK ENGINE light that goes on and stays on at freeway speeds after the engine is at full running temperature every single day - because the computer is not holding a code that can tell my mechanic where to look for the problem even when I bring the car in with the light on and running!  That CHECK ENGINE light means something is wrong but my private mechanic and Ford together cannot tell me what it is or how to fix it (Ford couldn't even get the light to go on.)

5) The safety bag light is constantly flashing.  This began immediately after my mechanic replaced the steering column, and I can't swear to it, but I believe the oil gauge began acting funny at the same time.

It is my layman's opinion that this car has a problem somewhere in the electrical system that is causing it to blow parts, gauges, idiot lights, whatever.  Replacing these items is not fixing the problem and I will be replacing them all over again if I keep this car and the electrical problem does not get fixed.   

My mechanic's philosophy is to allow the car to break down and then we can figure out the problem.  I would like to avoid that scenario. So, do I get rid of the only car I have ever really enjoyed driving or is there a way to trace the original underlying problem without costing me a fortune?

Thanks!
Mark R.  

Answer
number one don't get rid of the car because for the money it is still one of the better cars on the road-

as far as the wiper motor i don't by the overload theory-ford did have some trouble with original wiper motors so that would be the problem with the first one-the second one was probably just a poorly rebuilt  motor you wouldn't believe some of the junk out there.

i would be interested in running charging test cold and hot while watching it with the vat 40 to see what is going on with the charging system-this is hard to even guess some things just need to be tested properly and this one of those may not be much going on here at all.

same thing with the oil guage would run pressure test cold and hot more than likely you have an inaccurate oil guage

steering column why was it replaced to begin with it is very rare to replace column because unless it is damaged in an accident everything in them can be replaced-if a used one was installed the wheel may have been turned (it will go round and round freely) if so it will damage clockspring for airbag-also these are known to have module problems
nothing in column replacement should be related to oil guage problem

as far as check engine light if you came in with the light on there was a code there i wasn't so i don't know why it could not be retrieved if the scanner would communicate with vehicle if it would not that needs to be diagnosed first. but if you have an analog voltmeter i can tell you how to retrieve codes manually email me at mandaautomotive@windstream.net and put crown vic in subject line and i will email back my phone number to walk you through the steps-i probably know what the problem is if it is common.